Royal Brackla 12 Year Old
A mere glance at this bottle tells you that it should be a ‘fine’ whisky. The opulent, royal blue neck foil, classy label and rich coloured spirit all speak to the royal history that this distillery proclaims. Nestled in the countryside of the Cawdor Estate in the Scottish Highlands (right on the border with the Speyside region) lies the distillery which claims royal heritage back to the early 1800s when it was granted a royal warrant by King William IV. The distillery has been closed and re-opened several times since then but retains its traditional, regal style into the modern age. I can’t wait to try it.
Bottle
As mentioned above, this spirit grows from royal roots. The bottle does an excellent job of demonstrating so with the vivid, royal blue foil on the neck. The beautiful label, adorned with crowns and insignia, calls back to its royal connections elegantly. The bottle itself is relatively tall but heavy; there is nothing delicate about it - in fact, the best descriptor is probably - regal!
Colour
Unusually for a traditional 12 year old dram, this whisky is non chill-filtered and naturally coloured. Even more remarkable given its rich, colour - a beautiful mahogany certainly puts it on the dark end of the colour scale.
Nose - Beautiful, dark dried fruits lead the way. This is almost reminiscent of Christmas pudding (but without so many sour notes) or really intense fruit cake. The sherry is very evident here too.
Palate - Tinned plums and cherries are evident in the syrupy, rich fruitiness. There is then a wave of spices that mingle with a hint of chocolate-covered raisins. Lastly is a base of dark brown or muscovado sugar, rich but not too sweet.
Finish - A medium-length finish with the spices left lingering and just a hint of almond as you ready yourself for the next sip.
Overall
I’m not sure where to start with this whisky. At nearly £70 it is a lot more expensive than most other 12 year old whiskies on the market. But, on the other hand, the depth of flavour is excellent, and well beyond many of those core drams. To me, this is a little bit like Greene & Blacks chocolate - at nearly double the price of a bar of Cadburys, it isn’t great value for money, and in many ways, the bar of Cadburys is smoother and easier to eat. But every so often it feels deliciously decadent to have some Greene & Blacks chocolate and it hits just the right spot!
For a heavily sherried whisky, this is delicious and I’d recommend people give it a try, but I’m not sure I’d be rushing to pay full price for a bottle any time soon.
Available from The Whisky Exchange for around £69